Packaging

ABSTRACT

A rectangular pile of steel sheets is packaged in a single steel sheet automatically by first folding a sheet of steel around the top, bottom and end faces. Blocks are advanced against the end faces and a band is then tensioned around the side and end faces to form partial folds in packaging material protruding from the side face. Further bands are then tensioned around the top, bottom and side faces to form a completed package. The folding is carried out without the need to beat the packaging sheet manually.

United States Patent Reed [S4] PACKAGING [72] Inventor: Geoffrey R.Reed, London, England [73] Assignee: The British Iron and Steel Research1 Association, London, England [22] Filed: March 24, 1970 [2]] Appl.No.: 22,189

[] Foreign Application Priority Date April 11, 1969 Great Britain..l8,766/69 [52] U.S. Cl ..53/27, 53/176, 206/ R [51 Int. Cl. ..Bb25/14, B65b 27/08 [58] Field of Search ..53/3, 27, 170, 176, 124 D,53/l98, 390', 229/87 R; 206/65 B, 60 R, DIG.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,097,515 11/1937 Chambless..s3/27 1451 Oct. 17, 1972 5/1939 Simpson1 ..206/60 UX PrimaryExaminer-Theron E. Condon Assistant Examiner-Neil Abrams Attorney-Bacon& Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A rectangular pile of steel sheets is packaged ina single steel sheet automatically by first folding a sheet of steelaround the top, bottom and end faces. Blocks are advanced against theend faces and a band is then tensioned around the side and end faces toform partial folds in packaging material protruding from the side face.Further bands are then tensioned around the top, bottom and side facesto form a completed package.

The folding is carried out without the need to beat the packaging sheetmanually.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEnncr 1 1 I972 SHEET 2 OF 3 N VE'N TORGEOF'FPEY A. A 550 5v ATTORNEYS PACKAGING Piles of sheet steel formingflat sided bodies are conventionally packaged for protection duringtransit by folding a substandard sheet of steel around the package byhand. To make folds around the sides and ends of the package involvesbeating the packaging sheet by hand to bend it and then the bent sheetis held in place with straps or by welding. This method is timeconsuming and requires two men to package each pile. An object of theinvention is to provide a quick and simple method of packaging.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method ofpackaging a flat sided body having two main faces, two end faces and twoside faces in which a sheet of pliable material is laid on at least onemain face of the body, and folded on to the end faces, characterized inthat a first band is tensioned around the side and end faces to formpartial folds in material protruding from opposite side faces andgenerally in the plane of the end faces before folding the materialprotruding from opposite side faces and generally in the plane of themain face to form completed folds against the side faces.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided apackaged flat sided body having two main faces, two end faces and twoside faces, in which a single sheet of pliable material is folded aroundboth main faces and both end faces of the body, characterized in that aband is tensioned around the side and end faces of .the package andfolds of said material are laid on the side faces outside the band. i i

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is providedapparatus for packaging a flat sided body having two main faces, two endfaces, and two side faces, after a single sheet of pliable material hasbeen folded around both main faces and both end faces of the body, saidapparatus including a conveyor for the body, a generally horizontal bandguide disposed above the conveyor for passing a band horizontally aroundthe side and end faces of the body to form partial folds in materialprotruding from opposite side faces and generally in the plane of theend faces, location blocks at least one of which is movable towards theother to enable the blocks to contact sheet material on opposite endfaces when a band is being passed around the side and end faces, saidband guide and location blocks being vertically movable out of the pathof a body on the conveyor, and means for passing bands around the mainand side faces to form completed folds against the side faces.

The pliable material is preferably sheet metal, e.g., sheet steel. It isfound that even with a stiff material like sheet steel the tensioning ofthe first band manually or automatically around the side and end facesitself forms the partial folds in the protruding material that arerequired at the corners of the package without having to beat itmanually. It is found that it is easier to form the partial folds iflocation blocks contact the sheet material on opposite end faces beforetensioning the first band, and if the location blocks project beyond theside faces to support protruding material during tensioning of the firstband.

With a pile of steel sheets the top and bottom faces can be regarded asthe main faces and, of the other faces, either the shorter or the longerpair of opposed faces can be regarded as being the end faces, althoughit is normal to regard the shorter pair as being the end faces.

After tensioning the first band the completed folds against the sidefaces can be folded down in any convenient way but preferably furtherbands are tensioned around the main and side faces at least to assist informing completed folds against the side faces. The tensioning of thefurther bands can be the only step that completes the folds against theside faces but blocks can be advanced against the protruding material toassist in completing the folds.

The body can be packaged with two sheets by laying one sheet on only onemain face of the body before folding it on to the side and end faces inaccordance with the invention. The second sheet can then be laid on theother main face before folding it on to the side and end faces, again inaccordance with the invention. Preferably, however, a single sheet ofpliable material is folded around both main faces and both end facesbefore the step of tensioning the first band around the side and endfaces.

To ensure that the protruding material initially lying in the plane ofone main face is folded against the side faces underneath the protrudingmaterial initially lying in the plane of the other main face, means,such as blocks, are preferably provided to be brought into contact withthe material protruding from the side faces initially lying in the planeof said first mentioned main face during the formation of the foldsagainst the side faces.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of apparatus for carrying out the methodof the invention, and

FIGS. 2 to 5 show different stages in one embodiment of the packagingmethod of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a conveyor 2 along which piles 4 of sheet steel aredelivered to be packaged. Before arriving at the point shown in FIG. 1 asingle steel sheet 6 has been folded around both main faces 8 and 10 andboth end faces 12 and 14 of the body formed by the pile 4 either by handor by a separate machine which does not form a part of the presentinvention. The sheet 6 is folded with an overlapping join 16 on the topsurface 8. Flaps of material 22 protrude from opposite side faces 18 and20 of the body 4 generally in the plane of the end faces 12, 14, andflaps of material 24 protrude from opposite side faces 18, 20 generallyin the plane of the main face 8, 10, by an amount which is convenientlyequal to or between and percent of the pile height thereby ensuring thaton folding the top and bottom flaps 24 at each side the flaps 24 willoverlap without fouling each other.

The conveyor 2 includes a portion 30 with longitudinally extendingmovable bands 31 which can be driven to position the pile 4 wheredesired on the portion 30. A rectangular guide 32 for a known type ofautomatic banding arrangement is positioned above the driven portion 30of the conveyor and is normally positioned out of the path of a pile 4moving along the conveyor but can be moved down to surround the pile 4.The guide 32 has a groove around its inside. Support and location blocksor plates 34 extend between the longer sides of the guide 32 and atleast one of the blocks 34 is movable towards the other along the guide32 to adapt the guide 34 for different sizes of pile 4. The blocks 34are longer than the ends l2, 14 of the pile 4. There is a groove 36extending along the inner face of each block 34. There are slots 35extending upwardly from the bottom edge of the blocks 34 which enablethe blocks to be lowered with their bottom edges below the bands 31.This permits the guide 32 and groove 36 to be positioned mid-way up theheight of even a low pile of sheets.

Beyond the conveyor portion 30 there is a vertically disposedrectangular guide 38 for a known type of automatic banding arrangementthrough which the pile 4 can pass. Pairs of blocks 40 with inclinedfaces 41 are disposed on either side of the conveyor 2, one block 40 ofeach pair being disposed on opposite sides of the guide 38. The twopairs 40 can be advanced towards each other for a purpose to bedescribed below.

The preferred method of the invention is as follows:

The pile 4 having the sheet 6 folded around it as shown in FIG. 1 isadvanced to the portion 30 of the conveyor and the guide 32 is loweredto surround the pile 4. The pile 4 and at least one of the support andlocation blocks 34 are then moved so that the blocks 34 contact thesheet material on opposite end faces l2, 14 including the protrudingflaps 22 as shown in FIG. 2. A band 42, for example of steel or nylon,is then passed automatically in a known manner around the side faces 18,20 and end faces 12, 14 of the pile 4 utilizing the grooves 36 in theblocks for guiding the band 42 along the end faces 12, 14 and the groovein the guide 32 for guiding the band at the sides. The guide 32 andgrooves 36 are preferably positioned mid-way up the height of the pile.

The band 42 is then tensioned automatically to produce partial folds 44in the flaps of material 22 protruding from opposite side faces 18, 20as shown in FIG. 3. The blocks 34 prevent the flaps 22 from folding outof the plane of the ends 12, 14 of the pile away from the sides 18, 20.The blocks 34 are now released from the end faces 12, 14 and the guide32 (not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) is raised allowing the pile 4 to beadvanced along the conveyor 2.

The pile 4 is advanced until it projects partly through the guide 38 tothe position shown in FIG. 4 (part of the guide 38 is not shown in FIG.4 for clarity). A band 46 is now passed loosely around the main faces 8,l and side faces 18, 20 adjacent to the front end of the pile 4 andoverlapping the folds 44 as shown in FIG. 4. The blocks 40 are nowadvanced towards the side faces 18, 20 and the inclined faces 41 arebrought into contact with the bottom flaps of material 24 to ensure thatin the completed package the bottom flaps 24 are folded under the topflaps 24 as shown in FIG. 5. The band 46 is now tensioned. The pile isthen advances so that its rear end 14 is near the guide 38 so thatanother band 48 can be passed loosely around the end of the pile in thesame way as the band 46. The blocks 40 are again ad vanced for the samereason as before. The band 48 is now tensioned to form completed foldson the side faces 18, 20 as shown in FIG. 5, thus completing thepackaging operation.

The completed package in accordance with the invention, as shown in FIG.5, is a flat sided body having two end faces 12, 14 and two side faces18, 20. The band 42 is tensioned around the side and end faces and folds24 of the packaging material are laid on the side faces 18, 20, outsidethe band 42 in contrast to a normally packaged pile.

The method described above provides considerable saving in time andmanpower in comparison with the methods of packaging piles of steel withsteel sheet presently used.

I claim:

1. A method of packaging a flat sided body having two main faces, twoend faces and two side faces in which a sheet of pliable material islaid on at least one main face of the body, and folded on to the endfaces with a portion of said sheet protruding beyond opposite sidefaces, comprising contacting the sheet material on opposite end faceswith location blocks, then tensioning a first band around the side andend faces thereby forming partial folds in the material protruding fromopposite side faces and generally in the plane of the end faces, thelocation blocks projecting beyond the side faces and supporting theprotruding material during the tensioning of the first band and foldingthe material protruding from opposite side faces and generally in theplane of said one main face to form completed folds of the protrudingportions against the side faces.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which, after tensioning the firstband, further bands are tensioned around the main and side faces atleast to assist in folding the protruding material and forming completedfolds against the side faces.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which a single sheet of pliablematerial is folded around both main faces and both end faces before thestep of tensioning the first band around the side and end faces.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 in which the sheet of pliable materialis laid on the other main face and including the step of contacting thematerial protruding from the side faces and initially lying in the planeof said one main face during the formation of the completed foldsagainst the side faces and folding it against the side faces, andsubsequently contacting the protruding material initially lying in theplane of the other main face and folding it against the side facesthereby ensuring that the protruding material initially lying in theplane of said one main face is folded against the side faces underneaththe protruding material initially lying in the plane of the other mainface.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the body is a pile of steelsheets and the pliable material is steel sheet.

6. Apparatus for packing a fiat sided body having two main faces, twoend faces, and two side faces, after a single sheet of pliable materialhas been folded around both main faces and both end faces of the bodywith a portion of said sheet protruding outwardly beyond opposite sidefaces, said apparatus comprising a conveyor for the body, a generallyhorizontal band guide disposed above the conveyor for passing a bandhorizontally around the side and end faces of the body to form partialfolds in material protruding from opposite side faces and generally inthe plane of the end faces, location blocks at least one of which ismovable towards the other to enable the blocks to contact sheet materialon opposite end faces when a band is being passed around the side andend faces, said band guide and location blocks being vertically movableout of the path of a body on the conveyor, and a generally vertical bandguide for passing bands around the main and side faces to form completedfolds against the side faces.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 including blocks advanceable towardsthe side faces to contact the 5 material protruding from the sidefacesand initially lying in the plane of one main face.

1. A method of packaging a flat sided body having two main faces, twoend faces and two side faces in which a sheet of pliable material islaid on at least one main face of the body, and folded on to the endfaces with a portion of said sheet protruding beyond opposite sidefaces, comprising contacting the sheet material on opposite end faceswith location blocks, then tensioning a first band around the side andend faces thereby forming partial folds in the material protruding fromopposite side faces and generally in the plane of the end faces, thelocation blocks projEcting beyond the side faces and supporting theprotruding material during the tensioning of the first band and foldingthe material protruding from opposite side faces and generally in theplane of said one main face to form completed folds of the protrudingportions against the side faces.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 inwhich, after tensioning the first band, further bands are tensionedaround the main and side faces at least to assist in folding theprotruding material and forming completed folds against the side faces.3. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which a single sheet of pliablematerial is folded around both main faces and both end faces before thestep of tensioning the first band around the side and end faces.
 4. Amethod as claimed in claim 3 in which the sheet of pliable material islaid on the other main face and including the step of contacting thematerial protruding from the side faces and initially lying in the planeof said one main face during the formation of the completed foldsagainst the side faces and folding it against the side faces, andsubsequently contacting the protruding material initially lying in theplane of the other main face and folding it against the side facesthereby ensuring that the protruding material initially lying in theplane of said one main face is folded against the side faces underneaththe protruding material initially lying in the plane of the other mainface.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the body is a pile ofsteel sheets and the pliable material is steel sheet.
 6. Apparatus forpacking a flat sided body having two main faces, two end faces, and twoside faces, after a single sheet of pliable material has been foldedaround both main faces and both end faces of the body with a portion ofsaid sheet protruding outwardly beyond opposite side faces, saidapparatus comprising a conveyor for the body, a generally horizontalband guide disposed above the conveyor for passing a band horizontallyaround the side and end faces of the body to form partial folds inmaterial protruding from opposite side faces and generally in the planeof the end faces, location blocks at least one of which is movabletowards the other to enable the blocks to contact sheet material onopposite end faces when a band is being passed around the side and endfaces, said band guide and location blocks being vertically movable outof the path of a body on the conveyor, and a generally vertical bandguide for passing bands around the main and side faces to form completedfolds against the side faces.
 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6including blocks advanceable towards the side faces to contact thematerial protruding from the side faces and initially lying in the planeof one main face.